


Nellie Bly

by BridgetteIrish



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Car Sex, F/F, Grease Monkey Cat, Inaccurate Car Stuff, SuperCat Slam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-29
Updated: 2016-10-29
Packaged: 2018-08-27 06:57:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8391667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BridgetteIrish/pseuds/BridgetteIrish
Summary: Kara is surprised to find out Cat has another woman in her life.Will Cat have room in her life for both of them?





	

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my betas: kara-lesbihonest, rtarara, reginalovesemma and abcooper  
> Flawless edits and amazing insight as always. Much love.
> 
> Written for the Down & Dirty Supercat Slam (Oct.)

Kara tapped nervously on the edge of the styrofoam tray holding two lattes and four chocolate croissants and pressed the buzzer on the intercom.  She drew a deep breath as she took in the vastness of Cat’s Hollywood Hills estate.  The gilded gate shielded a large yard and garden.  It always smelled faintly of citrus and sea breeze, a product of the small grove of lemon trees that lined the south end of the property and the nearness of the Pacific just over the cliffside, which anchored the enormous home to the California coast.  Much like Cat’s old office at CatCo, the beach-facing side of the house was made almost entirely of glass, but secluded enough behind its gates and trees and endless cobblestone driveway.  

Kara had only set foot in this house a handful of times as Cat’s assistant, the woman herself preferring her downtown penthouse for its proximity to work and her beloved city. But this house was her escape, her sanctuary from the rat race and onslaught that came from running a multi-media empire.  

She was startled when a tinny voice came over the speaker mounted just outside the gate.  “Hello?”

Kara smiled.  “Hey Carter, it’s Kara.  Is your mom home?”

“Yep, come on in.”

Kara heard the buzz before the gate swung slowly open and she made her way across the meticulously manicured lawn. She bounded up a dozen white-stone steps to an intimidating mahogany door that swung open just as she was about to knock, revealing a mop-headed teenager sporting beachwear and an easy smile.

“Hi Kara!”  He stepped aside and let her enter.  “Where’s your car?”  He peeked around her to the empty drive.

“Oh, I, uh, took an Uber.”  She smiled.   _ Supergirl Express _ probably wasn’t an acceptable answer, she thought lightly to herself.  “Croissant?” she asked as she made her way through the vaulted ceiling foyer to a gourmet kitchen that would make her foster mother swoon with envy.  “Your faaaaavorite,” she sing-songed, shaking the bag.

Carter dove into the bag and shoved one end of a croissant the size of his head into his mouth as he buzzed around the kitchen, tossing bottles of water, several protein bars, and two ripe apples into a backpack.  He chewed and swallowed around a broad grin.  “Thanks Kara, this is awesome.”

“What’s got you in such a hurry?”

“I’m riding my bike down to Liam’s.  His mom’s taking us clamming.”

Kara hid her surprise at the thought of shy, cerebral, neat Carter Grant digging around in sand and mud for shellfish that would then be eaten that very night.  He was obviously excited about his day ahead and was anxious to get on his way.  He clutched his backpack and looked a bit torn by his desire to get out the door and his need to entertain his unexpected guest out of politeness.

Kara decided to put him out of his misery.  “Where’s your mom?”

Carter grinned and rolled his eyes in exasperation.  “Oh, she’s with  _ Nellie _ ,” he giggled cheekily.  “She’s been out there since before I got up this morning.”

“Um, Nellie?”  Kara silently cursed the squeak in her voice and the thump in her heart upon hearing Cat was spending time with another woman, in her home, while her son was home.  Not that she had any claim on Cat Grant.  Of course she didn’t.  Cat was free to be with whomever she wanted.  It wasn’t that she and Kara had also been spending time together on a semi-regular basis since Cat’s departure from CatCo, or that Kara thought they might be becoming something like  _ friends _ , or even that Cat had missed their standing Sunday brunch date that morning with no word, causing this unannounced mid-afternoon visit.  

None of those things should have bothered Kara.  It wasn’t like they were… dating.  But they had been sharing many details of their lives.  Cat knew about Kara’s crash and burn with James, and Kara knew about Cat’s frustration at not having fallen into her new life’s purpose overnight.  Together, they had forged a bond that, in Kara’s mind, was only getting stronger.  But Kara had never heard of this  _ Nellie _ , who Carter knew so well, and who had been in Cat’s home since the wee hours of the morning.  Nellie, who had caused Cat to miss brunch and who was probably all of the classy, confident, attractive things Kara would never be.

“Yep,” Carter pointed towards the glass-walled back of the house.  “Out the back, on the left, the garage is just past the grapevines.  You can’t miss it.”  He threw his backpack over his shoulder and gave Kara a hasty hug.  “I gotta go.  See ya, Kara!”

“Bye kiddo,” she choked out.  She gathered her coffees and croissants and headed towards the garage, wishing she had a third coffee.

 

++++++++++

 

Strains of old school Bon Jovi floated across the lawn.  Kara stepped through the open door tentatively.

The garage smelled of old motor oil and new rubber.  It was also glass-walled and looked out over the cliff.  If Kara couldn’t fly, she’d swear the view straight down to the rocky surf below would give her vertigo.  She didn’t see Cat or Nellie, only a faded, reddish convertible.  It looked like something that might have come straight off the set of Grease.

“Cat?”  Kara called over the loud music.  “Carter said you’d be out here.”  She fiddled with the chrome door handle, enjoying the cool metal under her fingertips.

“Don’t. Touch.”  

Kara started, unused to being caught off guard, and spun to find a blonde head peeking out from around the hood of the car.

Kara’s voice failed her.  Cat Grant sauntered from her hiding place, twirling a tiny wrench between her fingers and sporting a confident smile.  She wore a fitted black tank top under a pair of thick, grey coveralls, the top unzipped, rolled down, arms tied around her slim waist.  There was a black smudge just above her left eyebrow and a filthy oil-soaked rag draped over her shoulder.  There was just a hint of sweat causing her shoulders and upper chest to glisten in the light pouring in through the windows.  A brief, fleeting fantasy of Kara handing Cat an ice-cold soda and watching her hold it to the back of her leonine neck caused Kara to swallow heavily and she regretted the hot lattes currently warming her hand.

Cat casually pulled the rag from her shoulder.  She looked relaxed and happier than Kara had ever seen her.  

“No fingerprints on my polished chrome, Kara, unless you want to be spit-shining it for the rest of your natural born life.”  Cat’s appraising look told Kara she was trying to suss out just how long that natural born life might actually be in Kara’s case.

“Right, sorry.”  She wiped her hand against her thigh and managed a nervous smile.  “Um.  Carter said you had a visitor?  Someone named Nellie?”  She looked around, expecting to see someone new.  “I only have two coffees, but I do have an extra croissant.  I’m not sure why you never told me you were dating but-”

“Kara,” Cat interrupted, a self-satisfied smile lit her from within.  She slid up next to Kara and linked their elbows.  “I’d like you to meet my pride and joy.”  She guided Kara a couple of steps toward the car and reached a hand out to caress the rearview mirror gently.  “My ‘67 Camaro, Nellie Bly.”

Kara’s jaw dropped open.  “ _ This _ is Nellie?”  The relief in her voice was unmistakeable and Kara cursed her inability to hide anything from this woman.

“Mmm.” Cat affirmed.  “Isn’t she a beauty?”

Kara chided herself silently for jumping to conclusions.  She turned her head and took in Cat’s shining, excited eyes.

“She doesn’t look like much yet, but she’s faster than a cheerleader on prom night, and when I’m done with her, she’ll purr like a kitten and hug every curve on the PCH.”  Cat gave Kara’s waist a squeeze and bit her lip.  “She just needs a few tweaks and a new paint job, don’t you, Nellie.”  

Cat left Kara’s side and began fidgeting with some unseen flaw in Nellie’s leather upholstery.

Kara wished for all the world she could be on the receiving end of the adoration Cat was giving her beloved car in that moment.  She cleared her throat and Cat whipped back around.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of your surprise company, Kara?  Couldn’t wait until brunch tomorrow?” She leaned against the car door and pushed a lock of hair off her forehead with the back of her hand.

Kara’s confusion jarred her from the surreal vision before her.  “Tomorrow?  Cat.  Today is Sunday.  You missed brunch.  You stood me up for  _ Nellie _ , apparently.”  Kara smiled, in spite of the jealous bite in her voice.

“Jealous, Kara?” Cat asked with a wink.  “Don’t be ridiculous.  It’s Saturday.”  Cat took one of the coffees and Kara set the tray with her own drink and the paper bag on a nearby workbench.

Kara chuckled.  “Have you really been unemployed long enough that you’ve lost all track of what day it is?”

“I am not… _ unemployed _ ,” Cat spat.  “I’m finally doing the things I’ve always wanted to do but never had time for.”  She frowned and returned to her place under the hood of the car, setting her coffee on the ground.  After a moment of tense silence, Cat spoke again, her voice sullen.  “Is it really Sunday?”

Kara knew she’d hit a nerve.  She was getting better and avoiding Cat’s little triggers, but her lack of direction at present was a pretty big one.  She crossed to Cat, who had practically climbed inside the front of the hood, reaching for a hose of some kind.  Kara indulged herself in just a moment of enjoyment of Cat’s perfect backside hanging over the car’s grill.  

Kara pulled herself together before pulling Cat away from the car with a strong but gentle hand on her shoulder.  When Cat had two feet solidly on the ground, she turned her so they stood toe to toe, face to face.  She softened her voice and squeezed her hands, ignoring the grease staining her own pale skin.  “Yeah.  It is.  I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to make fun.  I was only teasing.”  She smiled.

Cat managed an annoyed smirk and turned back to the car.

Kara spent a few glorious minutes watching Cat tinker with the inner workings of the car, tightening bolts, pulling on wires and wiping gunk from nooks and crannies.  Kara didn’t know what any of it did or meant, but watching Cat get progressively more covered in grime was so incongruous in her mind that she couldn’t help but bring it up.

“Can I ask you something?” Kara ventured.

“If you hand me that ratchet, you can ask me anything you want.”  She followed Cat’s gesture and handed her a long silver tool.  “No, the other one,” she clarified and Kara tried again, feeling a bit pleased when Cat dove back into the car without further comment.

Kara leaned against the bumper in an effort to wrench a bit of Cat’s attention from the car.  “You hate getting dirty, you’re terrified of germs of any kind and you yelled at me when there was so much as a water stain on your coffee table at CatCo.  What’s changed?”

“Nothing’s changed.”  Cat said from under the hood.  She pulled the dirty rag from her shoulder and used it to loosen some kind of attachment deep in the car’s guts.  There’s a difference between  _ being _ dirty and  _ getting _ dirty, Kara.”  She threw a knowing look over her shoulder and Kara felt her face flush.  “I don’t allow myself or the people around me to live in filth or attract germs, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with getting a little oil and lube on your hands for a… project.”  Kara’s knees buckled a little.  

“My son is digging clams out of the mud today and tonight we’ll have a delicious meal because of it.”  She turned from the car, hose in hand and rummaged around in a large box for a suitable replacement.  “I’m sure you get a little...messy on your painting days, do you not?  It’s to be expected.”  She looked Kara up and down again, standing closer than Kara ever remembered her getting, as though imagining what Kara might look like covered in oil paints and charcoal smudges.

Kara nodded in agreement.  “You always could surprise me, Cat,” she breathed.

“Could you hand me that nut driver?”

Kara giggled.

“What are you, twelve?  My teenage son is a better mechanic.”

“Well, seeing as how I’m not a mechanic…”

A wicked grin crossed Cat’s face and Kara saw the thought enter her mind.  “I could teach you.”  She turned to a drawer behind her and chucked a pair of grey coveralls at Kara.  “Take off that hideous chiffon scarf and put this on.  We can’t have you staining your Ann Taylor best.”

Unable to protest, Kara pulled the soft denim on over her chinos and blue v-neck and looked down at the little patch on her left collarbone.  ‘Kitty’ it said in red on a white background.  She looked up at Cat with one raised eyebrow.

“Shut up and come here.”  Cat leaned over the driver’s side door and turned the key in the ignition.  She wrapped her hand around Kara’s, dragging her under the hood.  She pressed Kara’s hand to a flat, vibrating surface within the running car.  “Feel that?” Cat breathed in her ear.  “That little rattle in her engine?”

Kara’s eyes slipped closed and she could only manage a nod as her hand closed into a fist beneath Cat’s own.

“I’m gonna have to get under her to work that out.”  The warm presence at Kara’s back was suddenly gone and all the air rushed from Kara’s lungs at once.

 

+++++++++++

 

That’s how Kara found herself, twenty minutes later, staring down at Cat’s legs, feet planted on the ground at the end of some kind of tiny rolling cart, sticking out from under Nellie.  Occasionally she was asked to hand Cat one tool or another.  She usually got it wrong on first request.

Looking back, Kara knew if she hadn’t been distracted by the way Cat’s legs and hips shifted around while trying to reach whatever needed tweaking in Nellie’s undercarriage, it wouldn’t have been as close a call as it was.  She heard the creak of the jacks before the car began to groan and lurch forward, threatening to crush Cat beneath its weight.

It was instinct that caused Kara to throw caution to the wind and catch Nellie just before the jack holding her off the ground collapsed.  And before she knew it, there she stood, holding one and a half tons of steel with her bare hands and sliding Cat’s cart away from danger with her foot.  Cat glided across the garage floor and tumbled from the cart, watching in fascination as Kara set Nellie back on the ground as gently as she could and spun to check that she was undamaged.

“Are you alright?”

Cat blinked owlishly.  “Thanks to you.”

“I,” Kara started but couldn’t finish.  “I…” she tried again.

Cat sauntered forward and slid a hand from Kara’s forearm, to squeeze her bicep and up further to curl around her neck, “You saved my life,” she whispered.  “Something you want to tell me, Kara?”

Kara felt a surge of confidence at her proximity and the residual fear for Cat’s life.  She cupped Cat’s chin and met her eyes intently.  “Do I really need to say it?”

“Don’t you dare say a word,” Cat commanded and drew Kara’s lips to her own.

Kara lost all train of thought as her arms came around Cat’s waist and lifted her off the ground, setting her on Nellie’s driver side door.  Cat’s legs wrapped themselves around her waist and her hips rolled enticingly.  Cat’s lips slid down her neck, raining kisses across the hollow of Kara’s throat, hands tugging gently at the hair under her fingers.

Kara tried to form complete sentences.  “Cat… we shouldn’t.  This is rescue adrenaline.  You aren’t, oh god… your mind might be clouded.  I think, jesus… maybe we should…”

Cat pulled Kara’s focus to her eyes, which were glassy with arousal.  “Kara.  I have been keyed up since the second you put these coveralls on.  So, unless you want me to stop… Shut. Up.”  Cat’s lips were on hers again and Kara fell into her, all resistance gone.

Without warning, the coveralls were suddenly open and Cat was wrestling her arms out of the denim, pushing the whole thing down and off Kara’s hips.  Her hands continued to wander, under her v-neck, unbuttoning her chinos, warm hands squeezing her ass, Cat’s lips finding new places to taste as more of Kara’s skin was exposed.  The v-neck came off, the chinos dropped to the garage floor and Cat wrapped her arms and legs fully around Kara and tipped backwards, pulling Kara over the car door and into the leather backseat.

It was Kara’s turn to taste every part of Cat she could reach.  She smelled of motor oil and cherry blossom perfume and Kara breathed her in, drowning in her presence.  She methodically loosened Cat’s coveralls, finding only a tiny pair of gym shorts underneath.  “Your upholstery,” she breathed, not really caring as she relieved Cat of her tanktop. 

“You can pay to have it detailed, darling.  Nellie hasn’t seen this kind of action in decades.  You don’t want to disappoint her, do you?”

Kara shook her head and her hand ventured beneath the waistband of Cat’s gym shorts, finding only Cat, dripping and ready underneath.  Kara groaned helplessly and found Cat’s lips with her own again.  She didn’t go further.  She met Cat’s eyes again.  Her free hand gently caressed an impossibly soft breast through her simple, cotton bra.

“Don’t stop now, Supergirl.  You’re at third base with a girl in the backseat of her Chevy.” Cat raised her hips just enough to feel Kara’s fingers brush her slightly causing both women to whimper quietly.  “You gonna go all the way?”

Kara’s tongue flicked a trembling upper lip as she thrust two strong fingers into Cat.  She kept her eyes on Cat’s as she arched beneath her. When those eyes slipped closed, Kara could only watch as Cat found her pleasure with slender fingers buried in Kara’s golden hair, as their breasts brushed together tantalizingly and Cat moved against Kara’s fingers.  A single finger found it’s way between Kara’s thighs, brushing her clit through thin satin.

Kara shouted Cat’s name, loving how the sound echoed through the empty garage and out the open door.  She thanked Rao silently for the large estate and lack of neighbors.

They came together with a shared cry.  Kara rolled off Cat and directly onto the floor of the car.

Cat let out a laugh that rang in Kara’s head like chimes, warming her heart and compelling her to kiss Cat again, pulling her down on top of her.

When Cat finally climbed off of Kara and sat properly on the car seat, she cocked her head to the side.  “Kara listen.”

Kara crinkled her forehead but didn’t hear anything but the running car, the ocean far below them and a woodpecker a few miles away.

“Nellie’s purring.” Cat smiled and hopped over the car door, snatching her top and rushing back under the hood.  Kara followed at a leisurely pace and stood back, watching the relaxed way Cat studied the moving parts of the engine only she truly understood.  She turned and leaned against the grill, pulling Kara to her by a hand.  “She likes you,” Cat grinned, nipping Kara gently on the earlobe.

“I like her too.”  Kara fell into Cat again, kissing her hard and quick before skipping off to gather her own clothes.

 

+++++++++++

 

Kara took to visiting Cat each Saturday to watch her tinker with Nellie.  Those visits always lead to Saturday afternoons hanging with Carter or reading under the lemon trees and Saturday night sleepovers in Cat’s bed, or Cat’s home office, or in front of the fireplace in Cat’s seldom used den, followed by their regular Sunday brunches in all of the trendiest places in National City.

Soon Cat’s weekdays began to fill up with phone calls and meetings and new irons in the fire. It wasn’t long before she booked a plane ticket to Metropolis to meet with a book editor about some of the corporate mentorship techniques Cat had been writing down for years.

The light was back in Cat’s eyes. She had begun locking herself in her office for long periods, clicking away at her laptop or making old fashioned notes on a yellow legal pad that migrated from her office desk to the coffee table in the living room to her nightstand.  She allowed Kara in when she came bearing coffee and a smile (and occasionally nothing else).  Kara basked in Cat’s new purpose and happiness and began to cook up a surprise for her.

Cat went to Metropolis on a Tuesday and swore she’d be back for Sunday brunch.  She took her private jet and Carter and Kara saw her off on the tarmac, waving and laughing, arms thrown about each other.

Cat crawled into bed with Kara at 11:24 on Saturday night, after a long flight, a long car ride and a quick check on a sleeping Carter.  They made love, both only half awake, before falling asleep and sleeping straight through brunch.

They awoke to a note from Carter saying he’d gone to Liam’s to work on chess strategy.

While Cat was in the shower, Kara snuck out the backdoor into the garage and prepared her surprise.  She fed Cat a quick breakfast of fresh pineapple, toast and scrambled eggs and tied a blindfold loosely around her eyes.  “I have a surprise for you,” she whispered in Cat’s ear.

“I hate surprises.”

“I know, humor me?”

Cat pursed her lips but allowed Kara to march her blind out the front door.  She carried her down the stone steps and stood her on the drive.  “Don’t move,” she commanded, and she was gone.

“Okay,” Kara shouted from a few yards away.  “Take off your blindfold.”

Cat pulled at the cotton covering her eyes revealing Nellie, in all her glory, purring quietly in the drive, and completely made over with a flawless new candy apple red paint job.  Her brand new cover was down, and her white leather upholstery positively shined in the California sun.  Sprawled across her hood wearing her Supergirl suit was Kara Danvers, hair blowing in the citrus scented breeze and wearing a smile so sinful, Cat’s knees almost gave out.

“Oh, Kara.  She’s beautiful.”

“A beautiful car for a beautiful girl.”

Cat ran to the car and threw herself on top of the hood into Kara’s arms.

“I figured Nellie’s been working pretty hard for you lately.  She deserved some spa time.”

Cat shut her up with a kiss.  “Well, Nellie’s about to work a little harder.  Think I can manage to fuck you on top of this car without denting her hood?”

Kara swallowed heavily.  “Um… don’t you wanna take her for a ride?” 

Cat chuckled.  “First, I’m gonna take you for a ride, then it’ll be her turn.”

 


End file.
